Multiplier pipelining optimization with a postponed estimation correction

ABSTRACT

One embodiment provides a system. The system includes a register to store an operand; a multiplier; and optimizer logic to initiate a first reduction stage to operate on the operand, initiate a second reduction stage prior to completion of the first reduction stage, and determine whether a carry propagation has occurred.

FIELD

The present disclosure relates to multiplier pipelining optimization, in particular to, multiplier pipelining optimization with a postponed estimation correction.

BACKGROUND

Cryptography may be utilized to protect data from unwanted access, for authentication, to generate digital signatures, etc. Current cryptographic techniques rely on intensive mathematical operations. For example, a number of public key cryptographic standards (e.g., RSA (Rivest-Shamir-Adleman), Diffie-Hellman, ElGamal, DSA (Digital Signature Algorithm), etc.) are based, at least in part, on modular exponentiation of large numbers. A binary representation of the large numbers may include on the order of thousands, e.g., 1024, 2048, 4096, 8192, etc., or more bits. Modular exponentiation involves raising a first number (base) to some power (exponent) and reducing it with respect to a third number (modulus). A reduction (i.e., modular reduction) result corresponds to a remainder left when the base raised to the exponent is divided by the modulus. Mathematically, modular exponentiation can be expressed as g^(e) mod M where g is the base, e is the exponent and M is the modulus. Computationally, modular exponentiation includes squaring followed by a reduction and/or multiplying followed by a reduction. Such operations are performed repeatedly in cryptography. Thus, even a relatively small performance increase in a single modular reduction operation can have a significant effect over the relatively large number of modular reduction operations associated with modular exponentiation of large numbers.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

Features and advantages of the claimed subject matter will be apparent from the following detailed description of embodiments consistent therewith, which description should be considered with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 illustrates a functional block diagram of a system consistent with various embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 illustrates an example pipeline consistent with various embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 3A illustrates an example multiplier pipeline of depth three consistent with one embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 3B illustrates an operational flow diagram related to FIG. 3A; and

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of multiplier pipelining optimization operations according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

Although the following Detailed Description will proceed with reference being made to illustrative embodiments, many alternatives, modifications, and variations thereof will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Modular exponentiation for large numbers may be performed by a square-and-multiply technique. Whether to square an operand or square and multiply the operand depends on a value of the exponent. For each square and multiply operation there is a reduction stage to reduce the square/multiplication result modulo the modulus. The reduction stage thus reduces the size (e.g., in bits) of the square/multiplication result to the size of the operand(s) used as input to the square/multiply operation.

One technique for performing modular multiplication and squaring of relatively large numbers includes a combination of “schoolbook” multiplication and a Barrett reduction technique. Schoolbook multiplication generally includes multiplying a multiplicand by each digit of a multiplier to produce a respective intermediate result then shifting and adding the intermediate results to produce a final result. Barrett reduction progresses from left to right, using a quotient estimation to subtract a suitable multiple of the modulus. For example, for N and M, two integers with 2n and n bits, respectively, N may be reduced with respect to modulus M by determining a remainder of a division N/M. Modular exponentiation may then be performed via a sequence of multiply and square operations, each followed by a reduction. Thus, at any given point during exponentiation, there are two operands, A and B (where A=B for a square operation), that have size of n bits and a product is generated, N=AB that has size 2n bits. N may then be reduced as R=N mod M, where R is an n-bit integer.

Barrett reduction typically includes two n-bit multiplications and an n-bit subtraction. Modified Barrett reduction is a modification of Barrett reduction configured to reduce sizes of the multiplications to fewer than n bits. The modification is termed “folding”. Similar to unmodified Barrett reduction, a principle of the reduction method is to efficiently determine an estimate of a quotient q≈N/M followed by a subtraction R=N−qM.

Modified Barrett Reduction includes determining two constants, m prime (m′) and mu (μ), in advance (i.e., precomputing m′ and μ). The values of m′ and μ remain unchanged for the reduce operations (as long as the modulus m does not change). Determining m′ and μ in advance avoids determining them during the reduction stages. In other words, precomputing allows m′ and μ to be determined once and used a plurality of times. m′ and μ may be determined as:

m′=2^(1.5t) mod m

and

$\mu = \left\lfloor \frac{2^{1.5t}}{m} \right\rfloor$

where m is the modulus, t is a number of bits in the modulus m and the brackets in m correspond to “floor” which corresponds to a largest integer less than a result of the operations included in the bracket.

Modified Barrett Reduction includes three reduction stages configured to reduce a square/multiply result. In other words, the three reduction stages follow a square stage or a multiply stage and if both a square and a multiply are performed, a sequence is square—reduce—multiply—reduce. As used herein, multiply stage corresponds to a square stage or a multiply stage. Thus, a multiply stage may be configured to multiply or square. As further used herein, a multiply result corresponds to a square result or a multiply result. In a first reduction stage, reduction stage 1, high order digits (e.g., bits) of the multiply result are folded to yield a reduced value a′ (i.e., reduction stage 1 result) as:

$a^{\prime} = {{{a\mspace{14mu} {mod}\mspace{14mu} 2^{1.5t}} + {m^{\prime}\left\lfloor \frac{a}{2^{1.5t}} \right\rfloor}} \equiv {a\mspace{14mu} {mod}\mspace{14mu} m}}$

where a is the multiply result and a′ is the reduction stage 1 result. Folding is configured to decrease a size (e.g., number of bits, digits) of operands multiplied in a Barrett Reduction to reduce computational intensity and to thus improve performance. For example, a number of bits in the multiply result a is reduced from 2t to 1.5t by folding. In a second reduction stage, reduction stage 2, an estimate of s (s=floor(a/m)) may be determined as:

$s = {\left\lfloor \frac{a^{\prime}}{2^{t}} \right\rfloor*\mu}$

s corresponds to an estimate of quotient q. In a third reduction stage, reduction stage 3, an estimate is subtracted from a′, the reduction stage 1 result to produce a value which is at least close to a final result as:

${{a^{\prime}{mod}\mspace{14mu} m} \equiv {a^{\prime} - {\left\lfloor \frac{\left\lfloor \frac{a^{\prime}}{2^{t}} \right\rfloor*\mu}{2^{t}} \right\rfloor*m}}} = {a^{\prime} - {\left\lfloor \frac{s}{2^{t}} \right\rfloor*m}}$

In some situations, there may be additional subtractions of the modulus to achieve the final result, i.e., a remainder less than the modulus m.

In addition to multiplication in the multiply stage, the reduction stages themselves include multiplications. For example, reduction stage 1 includes determining a product of m′ and floor (a/2^(1.5t)). In another example, reduction stage 2 includes determining a product of μ and floor (a′/2^(t)). In another example, reduction stage 3 includes determining a product of m and floor(s/2^(t)).

Thus, a modified Barrett reduction may be performed in three stages. A multiply result of the multiply stage is input to the first reduction stage and a result of a prior reduction stage is an input to a respective subsequent reduction stage. Thus, each reduction stage depends on a previous result. For example, the first reduction stage is configured to receive a multiply result a from the multiply stage. In another example, the second reduction stage is configured to receive a′, a result of the first reduction stage. In another example, the third reduction stage is configured to receive s, a result of the second reduction stage.

A Modified Barrett Reduction may be performed many times in the determination of a modular exponentiation result. A multiplier (e.g., multiplier circuitry) may be used to perform at least some of the multiplications associated with modular exponentiation. Performance may be enhanced by pipelining operations of the multiplier to achieve at least some parallelism. Performance may be further enhanced by ensuring that the multiplier pipeline has minimal or no gaps in operations. In other words, performance may be further enhanced by ensuring that, once a modular exponentiation has started, the multiplier is fully utilized and thus not idle waiting for a prior result.

Generally, this disclosure relates to a multiplier pipelining optimization with a postponed estimation correction. The optimization is configured to be applied to reduction stages one and two of a modified Barrett reduction. The methods and systems are configured to initiate multiplication operations associated with reduction stage 2 prior to completion of operations associated with reduction stage 1. Initiating multiplication operations associated with reduction stage 2 prior or completion of operations associated with reduction stage 1 is configured to ensure that a multiplier is fully utilized, i.e., that there are no gaps in the pipeline between reduction stages.

Initiating reduction stage 2 prior to completion of reduction stage 1 may not capture a carry propagation that affects the reduction stage 1 result and thus the reduction stage 2 result. Occurrence of a carry propagation is configured to trigger a correction of the result of reduction stage 2, i.e., a postponed estimation correction based, at least in part, on the carry propagation. The postponed estimation correction may be implemented by adding μ at a selected offset to the result of reduction stage 2 and, thus, the carry propagation may be accommodated. Such a correction may have little or no detrimental effect on a performance improvement associated with fully utilizing the multiplier since a likelihood of occurrence of a carry propagation is extremely small. The method and system may be configured to reorder operations associated with reduction stage 1 to reduce a likelihood of a carry propagation occurring in reduction stage 1.

FIG. 1 illustrates a system block diagram of a system 100 consistent with several embodiments of the present disclosure. System 100 may correspond to and/or be included in a computing device, including, but not limited to, a server, a workstation computer, a desktop computer, a laptop computer, a tablet computer (e.g., iPad®, GalaxyTab® and the like), an ultraportable computer, an ultramobile computer, a netbook computer and/or a subnotebook computer, a mobile telephone including, but not limited to, a smart phone, (e.g., iPhone®, Android®-based phone, Blackberry®, Symbian®-based phone, Palm®-based phone, etc.), etc.

System 100 includes a processor 102, memory 104, communication logic 106, a multiplier 110, a plurality of registers 112, modular exponentiation (ME) logic 114, a parameter store 116 and optimizer logic 118. Processor 102 is configured to perform operations associated with system 100. Processor 102 may include one or more processing unit(s). Memory 104 includes any type of memory technology, as described herein. Communication logic 106 is configured to provide communication of commands and/or data to and/or from system 100. Such commands and/or data may be encrypted.

Registers 112 are configured to hold one or more parameters and/or operands related to modular exponentiation, as described herein. Parameter store 116 is configured to store precomputed parameters, e.g., m′ and μ. ME logic 114 is configured to manage operations associated with modular exponentiation, as described herein.

Multiplier 110 is configured to multiply a plurality of operands and to provide a result. For example, multiplier 110 may receive at least one operand from registers 112 and provide a result to registers 112. In another example, multiplier 110 may receive a parameter from parameter store 116. ME logic 114 may control provision of operands and/or parameters to multiplier 110 and may be configured to capture one or more results from multiplier 112.

Multiplier 110 has a bit width, w. The multiplier bit width corresponds to a size of operand element that the multiplier 110 can multiply. For example, multiplier 110 bit width may be 512 bits. Continuing with this example, multiplier 110 may receive two operand elements, each with a bit width of 512, and may produce a product (i.e., multiply result) of 1024 bits. In another example, multiplier bit width may be greater than or less than 512 bits. An operand may include one or more operand elements that together form the operand. For example, a bit width of an operand may be 2048, 4096, 8192, etc. Thus, a 2048-bit width operand may correspond to four multiplier bit widths.

Operations of multiplier 110 may be pipelined. Pipelining is configured to enhance performance by facilitating parallel operations of a component, e.g., multiplier 110. Pipelining may have an associated pipeline depth that corresponds to a number of operations that may be performed in parallel at given point in time. For example, multiplier 110 pipeline depth may be 3. In other examples, the pipeline depth associated with multiplier 110 may be more or less than 3.

Optimizer logic 118 is configured to manage optimization of modular exponentiation operations. Optimizer logic 118 may be configured to reorder operations of multiplier 110. For example, optimizer logic 118 may be configured to initiate a first reduction stage to operate on an operand and to initiate a second reduction stage prior to completion of the first reduction stage, as described herein. In another example, optimizer logic 118 may be configured to reorder provision of a plurality of operand elements to multiplier 110. The reordering is configured to reduce a likelihood that a carry propagation will occur. Optimizer logic 118 may be configured to determine whether a carry propagation has occurred during reduction stage 1 related to the result of reduction stage 2. Optimizer logic 118 may be further configured to detect the carry bit(s) and perform a postponed estimate correction in reduction stage 2 if the carry propagation has occurred. The postponed estimate correction may include adding μ at a selected offset to the result (i.e., estimate s) of reduction stage 2 to correct the estimate, as described herein.

FIG. 2 illustrates an example pipeline 200 consistent with various embodiments of the present disclosure. Example pipeline 200 corresponds to pipeline with depth three. Pipeline depth is related to a number of parallel operations that may be performed by a component, e.g., multiplier 110, that is executing the operations of the pipeline. Thus, example pipeline 200 includes three sequences 202 a, 202 b, 202 c, of pipelined operations.

Example pipeline 200 illustrates order of operations of two stages, R1 and R2, where a result of the first stage R1 is an input to the second stage R2. In other words, R2 relies on completion of the operations associated with R1 in order to perform its operations. For example, stage R1 may correspond to a first reduction stage of a modified Barrett reduction and stage R2 may correspond to a second reduction stage of the modified Barrett reduction, as described herein. Each stage R1, R2 includes a plurality of operations R1_(n-5), R1_(n-4), R1_(n-3), R1_(n-2), R1_(n-1) and R1_(n) and R2₁, R2₂, R2₃, R2₄, R2₅ and R2₆, respectively, that are distributed across the pipeline 200. For example, the first pipe 202 a includes operations R1_(n-5), R1_(n-2), R2₁ and R2₄, the second pipe 202 b includes operations R1_(n-4), R1_(n-1), R2₂ and R2₅ and the third pipe 202 c includes operations R1_(n-3), R1_(n), R2₃ and R2₆.

Time is increasing from left to right in FIG. 2. Thus, R1_(n) corresponds to a last operation of stage R1 that completes at time 206 and R2₁ corresponds to a first operation of stage R2 that starts at time 204. Time 210 is a difference between stage R1 completion time 206 and stage R2 initiation time 204 and represents an overlap between stage R1 and R2. Typically, when a second stage depends on a result from a first stage, no overlap is allowed, and initiation of operations of stage R2 may be delayed until stage R1 completion time 206. Such a delay may then result in a gap in pipeline 200 when the component executing the pipeline, e.g., multiplier 110, may be idle and thus underutilized. Performance may then be less than optimal.

FIG. 3A illustrates an example multiplier pipeline 300 of depth three consistent with one embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 3B illustrates an operational flow diagram 350 related to FIG. 3A. FIGS. 3A and 3B may be best understood when considered together.

Multiplier pipeline 300 and operational flow diagram 350 illustrate reduction stage 1 (i.e., determination of a′ based on a and m′) and reduction stage 2 (i.e., determination of estimate s based on a′ and μ) of a modified Barrett reduction, as described herein. In this example, a bit width, i.e., size, of operand a is 2*t and t=4*w, where w is the bit width of a multiplier, e.g., multiplier 110 of FIG. 1, configured to perform multiplication operations. In general, t is greater than w and t=4*w is one non-limiting example. Pipeline 300 illustrates an order of operations and operational flow diagram 350 illustrates details of the operations and results. Pipeline 300 and operational flow diagram 350 further illustrate one example of a multiplier pipelining optimization with a postponed estimation correction consistent with the present disclosure.

Turning to FIG. 3A, example multiplier pipeline 300 has a depth of three, i.e., pipes 302, 304, 306. Pipelines of greater and lesser depths may be utilized consistent with the present disclosure. Each pipe 302, 304, 306 includes a plurality of respective operations and each operation generally includes a multiplication. Operations 310 (i.e., MU1+*R5+) and 312 (i.e., MU0*R4) are associated with reduction stage 2 and are configured to be initiated prior to completion of reduction stage 1. Operations 314 (i.e., R7*M′0) and 316 (i.e., R6*M′1) are associated with reduction stage 1. Operation 316 and/or operation 318 may not be complete when operations 310 and/or 312 are initiated. In this example, reduction stage 1 completes when operation 318 (i.e., R6*M′0) completes. Pipeline 300 illustrates a multiplier pipelining optimization configured to eliminate gaps and associated multiplier idle time between reduction stage 1 and reduction stage 2.

Turning to FIG. 3B, operational flow diagram 350 illustrates operations 356, 316 and 318 associated with reduction stage 1 and operations 374 associated with reduction stage 2. Operation 358 a corresponds to reduction stage 2 operation 358 b and is initiated prior to completion of reduction stage 1. Operations 358 a, 358 b correspond to operation 310 of FIG. 3A. Similarly, operations 362 a corresponds to reduction stage 2 operation 362 b and is initiated prior to completion of reduction stage 1. Operations 362 a, 362 b correspond to operation 312 of FIG. 3A. In other words, operations 358 a and 358 b, illustrated as two operations in operational flow diagram 350 are actually one reduction stage 2 operation that is initiated prior to completion of reduction stage 1 and whose result is utilized in reduction stage 2. Similarly, operations 362 a and 362 b are actually one reduction stage 2 operation that is initiated prior to completion of reduction stage 1 and whose result is utilized in reduction stage 2.

Inputs to reduction stage 1 are a multiply result (i.e., a) 352 and constant parameter m′ 354. Thus, multiply result 352 is an output of a multiply stage. An output of reduction stage 1 (R5:R0 result 370) corresponds to a′, i.e., folded a. A bit width of a′ is less than the bit width of a. R0 through R7 of multiply result 352 may be included in registers 112. R0 through R7 of multiply result 352 correspond to operand elements. R7 of multiply result 352 corresponds to a most significant operand element of multiply result 352 and R0 of multiply result 352 corresponds to a least significant operand element of multiply result 352. The bit width of each of R0 through R7 of multiply result 352 corresponds to a multiplier, e.g., multiplier 110, bit width w. M′3, M′2, M′1 and M′0 are elements of parameter m′. M′3, M′2, M′1 and M′0 each have a bit width w. In this example 350, left-right position corresponds to bit position in an operand and/or parameter and top to bottom is related to order of operations. Particular order of operations is illustrated by pipeline 300.

Example 350 illustrates determination of a′ based on a 352 and μ 354, using folding and schoolbook multiplication, as described herein. Example 350 further illustrates determination of estimate s based on a′ and μ as described herein. Initially, R7 and R6 of multiply result 352 correspond to floor(a/2^(1.5t)). Initially, R5:R0 of multiply result 352 correspond to R5:R0 result 370 and hold a mod 2^(1.5t). During operations 356, 316 and 318, R5:R0 result 370 holds an intermediate result and at the completion of reduction stage 1, R5:R0 result 370 holds the reduction stage 1 result. At the completion of reduction stage 1, i.e., operations 356, 316 and 318, R5:R0 370 hold reduction stage 1 result a′. Each plus sign, e.g., plus signs 361, 365, indicates an addition operation of the value to the right of the respective plus sign. Additions are accumulated in R5:R0 intermediate result 370. A multiplier, e.g., multiplier 110, may then be configured to multiply R7 and R6 by M′3, M′2, M′1 and M′0. The multiplication results of operations 356, 316 and 318 may be added to appropriate operand elements R5 through R0 of intermediate result 370 to yield reduction stage 1 result. Result 370 includes six elements of bit width w and (possibly) a carry bit 371 since a carry may occur as a result of an addition operation.

Operations 358 a, 358 b, 362 a, 362 b and 374 are configured to determine an estimate s, as described herein. At the completion of reduction stage 1, R5 and R4 of result 370, reduction stage 1 result, correspond to floor(a′/2^(t)). MU1 and MU0 are elements of constant parameter μ. Thus, operations 358 a, 358 b, 362 a, 362 b and 374 illustrate R4:5+*MU0:1+. The plus signs with MU1 and R5 indicate a possibility of a carry in those operands. A result, i.e., estimate s 376, may then correspond to R4:5+*MU0:1+.

Thus, examples 300, 350 illustrate determination of a′ (the result of reduction stage 1) and the estimate s (the result of reduction stage 2). The multiplication operations may be pipelined in multiplier 110, as described herein.

Turning now to FIG. 3A, in a conventional pipelined multiplication, operation 310 may not be initiated until operation 318 has completed. In other words, reduction stage 2 may not be initiated until reduction stage 1 has completed. Such a configuration results in gaps in the pipeline 300 after operations 316, 314 and 318, multiplier underutilization and thus may have less than optimal performance. In an optimized multiplier pipeline with a postponed estimation correction, consistent with the present disclosure, such gaps may be eliminated and performance may be improved by initiating operations 310, 312 prior to completion of reduction stage 1.

Operation 312 (i.e., MU0*R4), that corresponds to operations 362 a, 362 b, includes operand element R4 of result 370. Operation 310 (i.e., MU1+*R5+), that corresponds to operations 358 a, 358 b, includes operand element R5 of result 370. When operations 310 and 312 are initiated, prior to completion of reduction stage 1, R4 and R5 of result 370 may contain temporary (i.e., not yet final) respective values. For example, operation 316 (i.e., R6*M′1) that completes after operation 310 is initiated may affect R5 of result 370 via a carry propagation from operand element R2 of result 370 as a result of addition 361. Since operation 310 includes multiplying R5+ by MU1+ and operation 310 is initiated prior to completion of operation 316, such a carry propagation may not be captured in operation 310. In other words, the temporary value of R5, that may not include the propagated carry, is used in operation 310. Operation 316 may further affect R4 of result 370 via a carry from addition 361. However, operation 316 is configured to complete prior to initiation of operation 312 that includes R4 of result 370, thus, R4 may contain its associated final value that includes the propagated carry, if any.

Similarly, operation 318 (i.e., R6*M′0) may affect R4 of result 370 via a carry propagation from addition 365. Since operation 312 includes multiplying R4 by MU0 and operation 312 is initiated prior to completion of operation 318, such a carry propagation may not be captured in operation 312. In other words, the temporary value of R4 of result 370, that may not include the propagated carry, if any, is used in operation 312.

Propagating carry(ies) associated with addition(s) 361 and/or 365 that may affect R5 and/or R4 of result 370 may be detected during and/or after reduction stage 1 by, e.g., optimizer logic 118. The reduction stage 2 result 376 may then be corrected based, at least in part, on the detected propagated carry(ies). For example, if a carry propagates to R5 in reduction stage 1, estimate 376 may be corrected by adding μ (i.e., MU1:MU0) left shifted by element width w (i.e., μ<<w) to reduction stage 2 result 376. In another example, if a carry propagates to R4 in reduction stage 1, estimate 376 may be corrected by adding μ to reduction stage 2 result 376. In other words, propagated carry(ies) not accounted for in the temporary value(s) of R4 and/or R5 of result 370 may be accounted for (i.e., corrected) during reduction stage 2. Thus, optimizer logic 118 may be configured to perform postponed estimation correction of estimate s after a completion of reduction stage 1 and prior to a completion of reduction stage 2 in response to detecting propagate carry(ies) in reduction stage 2.

It may be appreciated that a likelihood (i.e., probability) that a carry will propagate into R4 or R5 is 2^(−2w). The likelihood that a carry will propagate into R4 or R5 is vanishingly small (but is not impossible). Thus, frequency of correcting for a carry propagation is similarly extremely small so that such correction has little or no effect on performance. The likelihood that a carry will propagate into higher order operand elements may be affected by an order of operations in reduction stage 1. Schoolbook multiplication may often be performed from right to left (i.e., least significant operand element to most significant operand element) but may also proceed left to right (most significant operand element to least significant operand element). The likelihood of carry propagation into higher order elements may be reduced by proceeding left to right and determining relatively more significant intermediate results that include the most significant operand element prior to determining relatively less significant intermediate results that include the least significant operand element.

Reduction stage 1 operations of example 350 may be configured to proceed from right to left by executing operations 356, 316 and 318 from the bottom up. Reduction stage 1 operations of example 350 may be ordered from the top down corresponding to left to right schoolbook multiplication. Reordering the reduction stage 1 to correspond to left to right schoolbook multiplication is configured to reduce a likelihood of carry propagation into R5 and/or R4 of result 370, as described herein.

Thus, performance related to modular reduction may be improved by eliminating gaps in a multiplier pipeline and reordering operations to reduce the likelihood of a carry propagation. For example, for a pipeline of depth three and assuming that each multiplier of width w consumes three time units for each multiplication, performance may be improved by about 12.5%.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart 400 of multiplier pipelining optimization operations according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. The operations may be performed, for example, by computing system 100, in particular, optimizer logic 118, multiplier 110 and/or ME logic 114 of FIG. 1.

Operations of this embodiment may begin with receiving a modulus 402. A first constant, m′, may be determined at operation 404. A second constant μ may be determined at operation 406. For example, the first constant m′ and second constant μ may be related to a modified Barrett reduction, as described herein. Operation 408 includes receiving an operand. The operand may be related to a modular exponentiation. For example, the operand may correspond to a multiply result. A first reduction stage (reduction stage 1) may be initiated at operation 410. A second reduction stage (reduction stage 2) may be initiated at operation 412. The first reduction stage may complete at operation 414.

Whether a carry propagation has occurred may be determined at operation 416. For example, a carry propagation may correspond to a carry from a lower order intermediate result element. If a carry propagation has not occurred, the second reduction stage may complete at operation 418. If a carry propagation has occurred, a postponed estimate correction may be performed at operation 420 and program flow may proceed to operation 418. Operations 416 and 420 may be performed before or after operation 414. A result may be output at operation 422. For example, the result may correspond to a reduction stage 2 result, i.e., estimate s. Program flow may then proceed to operation 410.

Thus, an estimate related to a modified Barrett reduction may be determined and multiplier operation may be optimized.

While the flowchart of FIG. 4 illustrate operations according various embodiments, it is to be understood that not all of the operations depicted in FIG. 4 are necessary for other embodiments. In addition, it is fully contemplated herein that in other embodiments of the present disclosure, the operations depicted in FIG. 4, and/or other operations described herein may be combined in a manner not specifically shown in any of the drawings, and such embodiments may include less or more operations than are illustrated in FIG. 4. Thus, claims directed to features and/or operations that are not exactly shown in one drawing are deemed within the scope and content of the present disclosure.

Memory 104 may include one or more of the following types of memory: semiconductor firmware memory, programmable memory, non-volatile memory, read only memory, electrically programmable memory, random access memory, flash memory, magnetic disk memory, and/or optical disk memory. Either additionally or alternatively system memory may include other and/or later-developed types of computer-readable memory.

Embodiments of the operations described herein may be implemented in a computer-readable storage device having stored thereon instructions that when executed by one or more processors perform the methods. The processor may include, for example, a processing unit and/or programmable circuitry. The storage device may include a machine readable storage device including any type of tangible, non-transitory storage device, for example, any type of disk including floppy disks, optical disks, compact disk read-only memories (CD-ROMs), compact disk rewritables (CD-RWs), and magneto-optical disks, semiconductor devices such as read-only memories (ROMs), random access memories (RAMs) such as dynamic and static RAMs, erasable programmable read-only memories (EPROMs), electrically erasable programmable read-only memories (EEPROMs), flash memories, magnetic or optical cards, or any type of storage devices suitable for storing electronic instructions.

As used in any embodiment herein, the term “logic” may refer to an app, software, firmware and/or circuitry configured to perform any of the aforementioned operations. Software may be embodied as a software package, code, instructions, instruction sets and/or data recorded on non-transitory computer readable storage medium. Firmware may be embodied as code, instructions or instruction sets and/or data that are hard-coded (e.g., nonvolatile) in memory devices.

“Circuitry”, as used in any embodiment herein, may comprise, for example, singly or in any combination, hardwired circuitry, programmable circuitry such as computer processors comprising one or more individual instruction processing cores, state machine circuitry, and/or firmware that stores instructions executed by programmable circuitry. The logic may, collectively or individually, be embodied as circuitry that forms part of a larger system, for example, an integrated circuit (IC), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a system on-chip (SoC), desktop computers, laptop computers, tablet computers, servers, smart phones, etc.

In some embodiments, a hardware description language (HDL) may be used to specify circuit and/or logic implementation(s) for the various logic and/or circuitry described herein. For example, in one embodiment the hardware description language may comply or be compatible with a very high speed integrated circuits (VHSIC) hardware description language (VHDL) that may enable semiconductor fabrication of one or more circuits and/or logic described herein. The VHDL may comply or be compatible with IEEE Standard 1076-1987, IEEE Standard 1076.2, IEEE1076.1, IEEE Draft 3.0 of VHDL-2006, IEEE Draft 4.0 of VHDL-2008 and/or other versions of the IEEE VHDL standards and/or other hardware description standards.

Generally, this disclosure relates to a multiplier pipelining optimization with a postponed estimation correction. The optimization is configured to be applied to reduction stages one and two of a modified Barrett reduction. The methods and systems are configured to initiate multiplication operations associated with reduction stage 2 prior to completion of operations associated with reduction stage 1. Initiating multiplication operations associated with reduction stage 2 prior or completion of operations associated with reduction stage 1 is configured to ensure that a multiplier is fully utilized, i.e., that there are no gaps in the pipeline between reduction stages.

Initiating reduction stage 2 prior to completion of reduction stage 1 may not capture a carry propagation that affects the reduction stage 1 result and thus the reduction stage 2 result. Occurrence of a carry propagation is configured to trigger a correction of the result of reduction stage 2, i.e., a postponed estimation correction based, at least in part, on the carry propagation. The postponed estimation correction may be implemented by adding μ at a selected offset to the result of reduction stage 2 and, thus, the carry propagation may be accommodated. Such a correction may have little or no detrimental effect on a performance improvement associated with fully utilizing the multiplier since a likelihood of occurrence of a carry propagation is extremely small. The method and system may be configured to reorder operations associated with reduction stage 1 to reduce a likelihood of a carry propagation occurring in reduction stage 1.

EXAMPLES

Examples of the present disclosure include subject material such as a method, means for performing acts of the method, a device, or of an apparatus or system related to a multiplier pipelining optimization with a postponed estimation correction, as discussed below.

Example 1

According to this example there is provided a system. The system includes a register; a multiplier; and optimizer logic. The register is to store an operand. The optimizer logic is to initiate a first reduction stage to operate on the operand, initiate a second reduction stage prior to completion of the first reduction stage, and determine whether a carry propagation has occurred.

Example 2

This example includes the elements of example 1, wherein the optimizer logic is further to perform a postponed estimate correction of a result of the second reduction stage if the carry propagation has occurred.

Example 3

This example includes the elements of example 1, wherein the optimizer logic is further to reorder provision of a plurality of elements of the operand to the multiplier, the reordering to reduce a likelihood that the carry propagation will occur.

Example 4

This example includes the elements according to any one of examples 1 through 3, wherein the multiplier is to perform a plurality of pipelined multiplications of a plurality of elements of the operand.

Example 5

This example includes the elements according to any one of examples 1 through 3, further including modular exponentiation (ME) logic and a parameter store, the ME logic to precompute a first constant m′ and a second constant μ and to store the first constant and second constant in the parameter store.

Example 6

This example includes the elements according to any one of examples 1 through 3, wherein the operand is related to modular exponentiation.

Example 7

This example includes the elements according to any one of examples 1 through 3, wherein the first reduction stage and the second reduction stage are related to a modified Barrett reduction.

Example 8

This example includes the elements according to any one of examples 1 through 3, wherein a bit width of the multiplier is less than a number of bits in the operand.

Example 9

This example includes the elements according to any one of examples 1 through 3, wherein the second reduction stage overlaps the first reduction stage.

Example 10

This example includes the elements according to any one of examples 1 through 3, wherein the multiplier is to operate as a pipeline to perform a plurality of operations in parallel.

Example 11

This example includes the elements according to any one of examples 1 through 3, wherein a bit width of the operand is in the range of 512 to 8192 bits.

Example 12

This example includes the elements according to any one of examples 1 through 3, wherein the optimizer logic is further to provide a result of the first reduction stage to the second reduction stage.

Example 13

This example includes the elements of example 12, wherein the optimizer logic is further to provide the result of the first reduction stage to the second reduction stage after a completion of the first reduction stage.

Example 14

According to this example there is provided a method. The method includes initiating, by optimizer logic, a first reduction stage to operate on an operand; initiating, by the optimizer logic, a second reduction stage prior to completion of the first reduction stage; and determining, by the optimizer logic, whether a carry propagation has occurred.

Example 15

This example includes the elements of example 14, and further includes performing, by the optimizer logic, a postponed estimate correction of a result of the second reduction stage if the carry propagation has occurred.

Example 16

This example includes the elements of example 14, and further includes reordering, by the optimizer logic, provision of a plurality of elements of the operand to a multiplier, the reordering to reduce a likelihood that the carry propagation will occur.

Example 17

This example includes the elements of example 14, and further includes performing, by a multiplier, a plurality of pipelined multiplications of a plurality of elements of the operand.

Example 18

This example includes the elements of example 14, and further includes precomputing, by modular exponentiation (ME) logic, a first constant m′ and a second constant μ; and storing, by the ME logic, the first constant and second constant in a parameter store.

Example 19

This example includes the elements of example 14, wherein the operand is related to modular exponentiation.

Example 20

This example includes the elements of example 14, wherein the first reduction stage and the second reduction stage are related to a modified Barrett reduction.

Example 21

This example includes the elements of example 14, wherein a bit width of a multiplier is less than a number of bits in the operand.

Example 22

This example includes the elements of example 14, wherein the second reduction stage overlaps the first reduction stage.

Example 23

This example includes the elements of example 14, and further includes operating, by a multiplier, as a pipeline to perform a plurality of operations in parallel.

Example 24

This example includes the elements of example 14, wherein a bit width of the operand is in the range of 512 to 8192.

Example 25

This example includes the elements of example 14, and further includes providing, by the optimizer logic, a result of the first reduction stage to the second reduction stage.

Example 26

This example includes the elements of example 25, wherein the result of the first reduction stage is provided to the second reduction stage after a completion of the first reduction stage.

Example 27

According to this example there is provided a device. The device includes a computer readable storage device having stored thereon instructions that when executed by one or more processors result in the following operations including initiating a first reduction stage to operate on an operand; initiating a second reduction stage prior to completion of the first reduction stage; and determining whether a carry propagation has occurred.

Example 28

This example includes the elements of example 27, wherein the instructions that when executed by one or more processors results in the following additional operations including performing a postponed estimate correction of a result of the second reduction stage if the carry propagation has occurred.

Example 29

This example includes the elements of example 27, wherein the instructions that when executed by one or more processors results in the following additional operations including reordering provision of a plurality of elements of the operand to a multiplier, the reordering to reduce a likelihood that the carry propagation will occur.

Example 30

This example includes the elements according to any one of examples 27 through 29, wherein the instructions that when executed by one or more processors results in the following additional operations including performing a plurality of pipelined multiplications of a plurality of elements of the operand.

Example 31

This example includes the elements according to any one of examples 27 through 29, wherein the instructions that when executed by one or more processors results in the following additional operations including precomputing a first constant m′ and a second constant μ; and storing the first constant and second constant in a parameter store.

Example 32

This example includes the elements according to any one of examples 27 through 29, wherein the operand is related to modular exponentiation.

Example 33

This example includes the elements according to any one of examples 27 through 29, wherein the first reduction stage and the second reduction stage are related to a modified Barrett reduction.

Example 34

This example includes the elements according to any one of examples 27 through 29, wherein a bit width of a multiplier is less than a number of bits in the operand.

Example 35

This example includes the elements according to any one of examples 27 through 29, wherein the second reduction stage overlaps the first reduction stage.

Example 36

This example includes the elements according to any one of examples 27 through 29, wherein the instructions that when executed by one or more processors results in the following additional operations including operating as a pipeline to perform a plurality of operations in parallel.

Example 37

This example includes the elements according to any one of examples 27 through 29, wherein a bit width of the operand is in the range of 512 to 8192.

Example 38

This example includes the elements according to any one of examples 27 through 29, wherein the instructions that when executed by one or more processors results in the following additional operations including providing a result of the first reduction stage to the second reduction stage.

Example 39

This example includes the elements of example 38, wherein the result of the first reduction stage is provided to the second reduction stage after a completion of the first reduction stage.

Example 40

According to this example there is provided a device. The device includes means for initiating, by optimizer logic, a first reduction stage to operate on an operand; means for initiating, by the optimizer logic, a second reduction stage prior to completion of the first reduction stage; and means for determining, by the optimizer logic, whether a carry propagation has occurred.

Example 41

This example includes the elements of example 40, and further includes means for performing, by the optimizer logic, a postponed estimate correction of a result of the second reduction stage if the carry propagation has occurred.

Example 42

This example includes the elements of example 40, and further includes means for reordering, by the optimizer logic, provision of a plurality of elements of the operand to a multiplier, the reordering to reduce a likelihood that the carry propagation will occur.

Example 43

This example includes the elements according to any one of examples 40 through 42, and further includes means for performing, by a multiplier, a plurality of pipelined multiplications of a plurality of elements of the operand.

Example 44

This example includes the elements according to any one of examples 40 through 42, and further includes means for precomputing, by modular exponentiation (ME) logic, a first constant m′ and a second constant μ; and means for storing, by the ME logic, the first constant and second constant in a parameter store.

Example 45

This example includes the elements according to any one of examples 40 through 42, wherein the operand is related to modular exponentiation.

Example 46

This example includes the elements according to any one of examples 40 through 42, wherein the first reduction stage and the second reduction stage are related to a modified Barrett reduction.

Example 47

This example includes the elements according to any one of examples 40 through 42, wherein a bit width of a multiplier is less than a number of bits in the operand.

Example 48

This example includes the elements according to any one of examples 40 through 42, wherein the second reduction stage overlaps the first reduction stage.

Example 49

This example includes the elements according to any one of examples 40 through 42, and further includes means for operating, by a multiplier, as a pipeline to perform a plurality of operations in parallel.

Example 50

This example includes the elements according to any one of examples 40 through 42, wherein a bit width of the operand is in the range of 512 to 8192.

Example 51

This example includes the elements according to any one of examples 40 through 42, and further includes means for providing, by the optimizer logic, a result of the first reduction stage to the second reduction stage.

Example 52

This example includes the elements of example 51, wherein the result of the first reduction stage is provided to the second reduction stage after a completion of the first reduction stage.

Example 53

According to this example there is a computer readable storage device having stored thereon instructions that when executed by one or more processors result in the following operations including the method according to any one of claims 14 to 26.

Example 54

Another example of the present disclosure is a system including at least one device arranged to perform the method of any one of claims 14 to 26.

Example 55

Another example of the present disclosure is a device including means to perform the method of any one of claims 14 to 26.

The terms and expressions which have been employed herein are used as terms of description and not of limitation, and there is no intention, in the use of such terms and expressions, of excluding any equivalents of the features shown and described (or portions thereof), and it is recognized that various modifications are possible within the scope of the claims. Accordingly, the claims are intended to cover all such equivalents.

Various features, aspects, and embodiments have been described herein. The features, aspects, and embodiments are susceptible to combination with one another as well as to variation and modification, as will be understood by those having skill in the art. The present disclosure should, therefore, be considered to encompass such combinations, variations, and modifications. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A system comprising: a register to store an operand; a multiplier; and optimizer logic to initiate a first reduction stage to operate on the operand, initiate a second reduction stage prior to completion of the first reduction stage, and determine whether a carry propagation has occurred.
 2. The system of claim 1, wherein the optimizer logic is further to perform a postponed estimate correction of a result of the second reduction stage if the carry propagation has occurred.
 3. The system of claim 1, wherein the optimizer logic is further to reorder provision of a plurality of elements of the operand to the multiplier, the reordering to reduce a likelihood that the carry propagation will occur.
 4. The system of claim 1, wherein the multiplier is to perform a plurality of pipelined multiplications of a plurality of elements of the operand.
 5. The system of claim 1, further comprising modular exponentiation (ME) logic and a parameter store, the ME logic to precompute a first constant m′ and a second constant μ and to store the first constant and second constant in the parameter store.
 6. The system of claim 1, wherein the operand is related to modular exponentiation.
 7. The system of claim 1, wherein the first reduction stage and the second reduction stage are related to a modified Barrett reduction.
 8. A method comprising: initiating, by optimizer logic, a first reduction stage to operate on an operand; initiating, by the optimizer logic, a second reduction stage prior to completion of the first reduction stage; and determining, by the optimizer logic, whether a carry propagation has occurred.
 9. The method of claim 8, further comprising: performing, by the optimizer logic, a postponed estimate correction of a result of the second reduction stage if the carry propagation has occurred.
 10. The method of claim 8, further comprising: reordering, by the optimizer logic, provision of a plurality of elements of the operand to a multiplier, the reordering to reduce a likelihood that the carry propagation will occur.
 11. The method of claim 8, further comprising: performing, by a multiplier, a plurality of pipelined multiplications of a plurality of elements of the operand.
 12. The method of claim 8, further comprising: precomputing, by modular exponentiation (ME) logic, a first constant m′ and a second constant μ; and storing, by the ME logic, the first constant and second constant in a parameter store.
 13. The method of claim 8, wherein the operand is related to modular exponentiation.
 14. The method of claim 8, wherein the first reduction stage and the second reduction stage are related to a modified Barrett reduction.
 15. At least one computer readable storage device having stored thereon instructions that when executed by one or more processors result in the following operations comprising: initiating a first reduction stage to operate on an operand; initiating a second reduction stage prior to completion of the first reduction stage; and determining whether a carry propagation has occurred.
 16. The at least one device of claim 15, wherein the instructions that when executed by one or more processors results in the following additional operations comprising: performing a postponed estimate correction of a result of the second reduction stage if the carry propagation has occurred.
 17. The at least one device of claim 15, wherein the instructions that when executed by one or more processors results in the following additional operations comprising: reordering provision of a plurality of elements of the operand to a multiplier, the reordering to reduce a likelihood that the carry propagation will occur.
 18. The at least one device of claim 15, wherein the instructions that when executed by one or more processors results in the following additional operations comprising: performing a plurality of pipelined multiplications of a plurality of elements of the operand.
 19. The at least one device of claim 15, wherein the instructions that when executed by one or more processors results in the following additional operations comprising: precomputing a first constant m′ and a second constant μ; and storing the first constant and second constant in a parameter store.
 20. The at least one device of claim 15, wherein the operand is related to modular exponentiation.
 21. The at least one device of claim 15, wherein the first reduction stage and the second reduction stage are related to a modified Barrett reduction. 